Great, a stray. Or maybe his identification had gotten loose and fallen off. “Sorry, bud, either way, I’ve got enough on my plate as it is.”
Adam headed across the parking lot, the dog close on his heels. His own fault, he never should’ve fed him. Maybe if he ignored the mutt, he’d go away.
Taking the stairs two at a time, he soon stood at Fay’s entryway, eyeing the patriotic wreath dressed with red, white and blue flowers through the outer screen door.
He wasn’t alone.
“Go on, get out of here.” Adam kept his voice low as he nudged the dog’s back end gently with the toe of his boot. “No wingman needed this time.”
The creature just sat there looking at him before he cocked his head toward the door.
Go on and knock, the shiny brown eyes seemed to say.
“Don’t rush me,” he whispered. “This isn’t easy, you know.”
The dog responded with a couple of sharp barks and seconds later the door sprung open.
“What’s going on—” Fay’s sleepy eyes widened. “Adam?”
Her hands flew to her fresh-from-bed mussed curls, quickly gathering the long strands into a messy ponytail. The jerky movements, arms raised and elbows askew, caused the silky robe she wore to gape from her collarbone to her knees.
Just enough for Adam to catch a glimpse of smooth skin, the sweet outer swells of her breasts and lacy green panties.
Whoa, ten-hut and standing tall.
A light breeze crossed the back of his neck and shoulders. Seconds later, the cool air touched her skin.
Everywhere.
Fay looked down, gasped and gathered the edges of her robe in her fists.
Adam felt the imaginary slap to the back of his head as sure as if his mother had been standing right there.
Forcing his gaze from Fay, he looked instead at the dog who returned his stare. He could’ve sworn one bushy eyebrow rose in a mocking salute.
“You’re actually taking credit for that?” he mumbled. “Okay, maybe you’re good for something after all.”
A quick glance back found Fay straightening her robe, knotting it tightly at her waist. He bit back a groan as she smoothed her hands down over her curves, pressing the material even closer to her body and allowing him to see its natural response to the breeze.
Forcing his gaze upward until he met hers straight on, he cleared his throat. Twice.
“Good morning, Fay.”
* * *
Was it her imagination or had Adam’s voice dropped a few octaves? Fay shivered and blamed it on the cool morning despite the way her skin flamed hot with embarrassment.
She’d been heading for the bath, but the need for a cup of hot tea had called to her and she’d taken a side trip to the kitchen instead, wearing next to nothing beneath her bathrobe.
A fact Adam was well aware of as his dark gaze roamed again from her crazy curls to her bare toes.
Taking a step backward, she angled her body behind the open door. “What are you doing here?” she asked through the screen.
The last thing she’d expected to find when she’d heard a dog barking on her landing was Adam, with said dog, holding a square box sporting the dragonfly logo of Doucette’s Bakery.
When she’d said yesterday afternoon she needed more time, she figured he understood that meant more than one day. Not twenty-four hours had gone by and here he stood, looking very much like the rancher she’d always known he wanted to be in a starched, button-down shirt, jeans, Stetson and boots.
“What part of ‘a few days’ did you not understand?”
“I didn’t plan on coming here this morning.”
“And yet, here you are. How did you know where to find me?” Realization dawned. “Oh, wait. Your family.”
“The instruction book for that newfangled java machine you put in my kitchen is longer than a Louis L’Amour Western,” he said, ignoring her comment while lifting both the coffee cup and the box in his hands. “I needed coffee and I brought breakfast. If you’re hungry.”
This time she noticed the aroma of freshly made doughnuts as it wafted through the screen door, winning over her annoyance at being the main topic of discussion with his family. She hated to admit it, but she was famished despite a 4:00 a.m. snack of sliced apple wedges smeared with peanut butter while watching old reruns of I Love Lucy.
The filthy mutt sitting next to Adam lifted his snout in the air as if he too could smell the delicious pastries. “Who’s your friend?”
“I have no idea. He followed me from the parking lot. You stay out here,” Adam spoke to the dog, and then reached for the door handle, his hand pausing at the latch on the screen door. “Is it okay if I come in?”
Fay bit down hard on her bottom lip. Did she want him in her home? No, but what would people think if Adam Murphy was seen standing outside her door this early on a Sunday morning?
Hadn’t she already given the locals enough to blabber about?
“Fine, come in.”
Fay moved farther back as Adam stepped into her small kitchen, his tall stature completely filling the room. He started to close the inner door behind him, but the dog let out a sharp yelp.
“Knock it off.” He shot the warning over one shoulder, then moved to shut the door again when the dog once more voiced his displeasure.
An expression of frustration crossed Adam’s face, and Fay fought a smile. “You sure he’s not yours? He doesn’t seem to want you out of his sight.”
“Stay quiet or no more doughnuts,” he said to the dog.
His admonition was met with a low whimper.
“Oh, for goodness sakes leave the door open,” Fay said the same moment as the timer on microwave dinged. Thankful for a reason to turn away, she took out the steaming mug of water, added a tea bag and stirred.
Adam did as she said, but when he moved to stand at the L-shaped counter that separated her tiny kitchen from the equally tiny eating nook, she moved to the far side, putting the counter between them.
“I didn’t know if glazed were still your favorites, so I grabbed a few choices.” He slid the box across the counter, but stayed on the kitchen side.
Ignoring the flutter in her chest over the fact the man remembered which pastry she liked best, Fay flipped open the box and lifted out a sugarcoated one. “Yes, they are. Hmm, looks like you’ve already had a few yourself.”
“Me and the mutt.” Adam jerked a thumb over his shoulder.
“You know, if you feed them, they’ll stay with you forever.”
Adam’s eyebrow rose and Fay realized she was just seconds away from taking a bite of the breakfast staple he’d brought for her. Taking that bite anyway, she grabbed her mug and started walking backward.
“I think I should get out of this robe—ah, get dressed,” she mumbled around a mouthful of food, then forced herself to swallow before continuing, “As much as I appreciate the gesture, I need to get started on my day.”
“Isn’t the shop closed today?”
“Yes, but Sunday is when I get caught up on paperwork, check orders, tackle bookkeeping and…other stuff.” Her appetite suddenly gone, she stopped and placed the doughnut and her mug on the kitchen table. “I know you probably want to talk, but I told you yesterday I need more time.”
“Fay, please. I just need to know…to ask you one thing.”
The soft, almost pleading tone of his voice caught her off guard. His easygoing manner had disappeared and now he sounded almost…afraid.
That couldn’t be right. What could possibly frighten him?
“I need—” His fingers clenched the coffee cup, indenting the sides almost to the point of crushing it. He walked to where she stood, set the cup down and took a deep breath. “I need
to know what your decision is. About the baby.”
“My decision?”
Fay had no idea what he was talking about. There were a thousand and one decisions facing her, from picking out a name, to how she planned to turn the smaller of the two bedrooms into a nursery, to figuring out a schedule as a working mother. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Yesterday you said the baby was yours.” Adam removed his hat, one hand rubbing hard at the back of his neck. “But I told you the baby was ours.”
She ignored the quick fluttering in her belly. “Yes, I remember.”
“I took your words to mean that you don’t plan to— Well, that you want…the baby.”
“Of course I want the baby. What else could you…”
Her voice trailed off as she understood what he was asking. Tears stung the back of her eyes. She pressed a hand low over her belly and blinked hard.
“Oh, Adam, how could you think that?” She looked into his eyes, wanting him to see the truth in hers. “Despite the situation we’ve found ourselves in, a lot of years have passed since we were fr-friends. You might think you don’t know me very well anymore, but it never crossed my mind to do anything but have this baby.”
He reached out then, his palm warm against her cheek. She jerked at his touch, but didn’t back away as his fingers moved to thread into her hair. Then he closed the space between them, dropped his head and gently pressed his forehead to hers.
“I’m sorry, Fay. That was unfair.” His words came out a rough whisper. “I have no right to measure what’s happening now against the past.”
“Whose past?” Bewilderment swamped her, and she didn’t know if her confusion was from his words or his touch. “I don’t understand.”
He straightened then, his hand dropping away as he looked down at her. “It doesn’t matter.”
But it did; she could see the pain and hurt reflected in his gaze. Had there been another child? Maybe with his ex? She hadn’t gotten to know his wife during his short-lived marriage. Everyone had been surprised when one day she’d packed up and left town, left Adam.
“I think it does matter.”
“I apologize again.” This time he stepped away from her, his gaze now centered on the hat he held in his hands. “I never should’ve thought that way. Weren’t you heading off to get dressed?”
Fay wanted to ask him more questions, but standing there wearing nothing but a robe left her feeling even more open and exposed.
She gave a quick nod and hurried to her bedroom. The bath could wait. As she pulled on a bra, T-shirt and jeans, her cheek still burned from the heated imprint of his hand.
She should be angry that he’d shown up here unannounced. Even more so for thinking she might do harm to the child she carried, but the fury and pain toward Adam that she’d lived with for months was hard to find.
Especially after witnessing the anguish in his eyes.
Yes, she’d been overwhelmed at the news of being pregnant. And the fact that the father was the same man she’d blamed for her husband’s death only added to the craziness of the situation.
But over the last week she’d found herself more and more feeling hope and joy for the future, for the tiny life growing inside her. Joy mixed with a bit of uncertainty, but that was to be expected.
Not that she’d made a conscious decision to let go of all her feelings, but finding out about the baby had changed her world completely.
Fay again laid a hand over her still flat stomach. Now that Adam knew for sure she planned to go through with the pregnancy she faced even more questions about the future.
For all of them.
Shoving her feet into well worn sneakers, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, her riotous curls barely held in place by her makeshift ponytail. “Oh, yikes! Here’s hoping you don’t take after your mother in the hair department.”
Maybe the baby would have hair the color of dark chocolate, thick and wavy like its father’s when he didn’t wear it in a close-cropped military style.
Fay stilled and just like that, the simple reminder of Adam’s connection to Scott fanned the simmer of resentment.
Pulling in a deep breath, she pushed the thought out of her mind before it could catch hold, fixed her hair and headed back to the kitchen.
There she found Adam looking around the apartment. She tried to see it through his eyes, the space barely one third the size of his log house, but after all the hard work she’d put into turning the former storage space into a home, all she saw was eight hundred square feet that was all hers.
Free and clear.
She’d given up everything in order to keep this century-old building. Stan Luden had hired her to work in the flower shop when she was in high school, not long after his wife died. Fay soon fell in love with all things about flowers. She took classes at a local community college and found herself practically running the place before Stan passed away eight years ago, leaving her the entire building in his will.
It had taken a lot of hard work and elbow grease, but after decorating it in a shabby-chic style of muted greens, pale yellows and off-white, Fay felt more comfortable here in this tiny space than she had the sixteen years she’d lived in her former home.
“It’s actually bigger on the inside that it looks,” Adam said, looking around. “You’ve done it up nice.”
“Thanks. It was a real mess up here when I started. I refinished all the hardwood floors myself, including the oak planking in the living room,” she said, reaching for her now cool mug of tea. Dumping the contents in the sink, she turned and leaned against the counter. “Down the hall are two small bedrooms and the bath, which has a wonderful clawfoot tub that’s still in amazing condition. It must be original to the building. I swear, there’s nothing better after a long day than sinking up to my nose in bubbles—”
Fay captured her bottom lip with her teeth, cutting off her own words. “Sorry. I tend to get carried away talking about this place.”
Adam’s dark gaze held her for a long moment before he spoke. “It’s a lot different than your old home.”
Here it comes.
She’d been so caught up in showing off the warm and comfy space she’d almost forgotten who she was talking to.
She lifted her chin and returned Adam’s direct stare. “Yes, it is. I guess I prefer cozy to grand.”
“It suits you, but I was surprised to find out you sold…” His voice trailed off as his gaze shifted to the refrigerator, eyes narrowing. “You have a doctor’s appointment scheduled for Friday?”
Fay found herself thankful that he’d spotted her calendar and the bold letters she’d printed in red and enclosed in a big heart. She was sure Adam was moments away from asking her why she’d sold her old home and that conversation was one she wasn’t prepared to have with him.
Not yet.
So she went with her first instinct to distract him. “Yes, for me and the baby. Would you like to join us?”
Chapter Six
“So, that’s it?” Still trying to come to terms with how fast his life had changed over the last few days, Adam leaned back in the chair where he sat at the large conference room table. The smiles on his brothers’ faces eased the tightness in his chest. “That’s all I have to do?”
He’d gotten up first thing this morning, drove to Murphy Mountain Log Homes and asked to speak to his brothers, at least the ones present, privately.
Then he asked for his old job back.
Even though his degree was in Farm and Ranch Management, Adam had worked for the family business from the moment the doors had opened his sophomore year in college. He preferred the outdoor side of things and worked his way up to construction manager until he’d finally led the crew that built his log home.
&
nbsp; The plan had been to start his own ranch after that, but the failure of his marriage had soured him on that dream. His increased tours overseas meant leaving his job with the family business behind as well. His specialty while serving in the Air Force reserves had been as a pavements and construction equipment operator. Not much pavement in building log homes, but his expertise with operating and maintaining heavy equipment meant it’d be easy for him to slide back into his old position.
Man, he never thought he’d be back as a full-time employee with two of his younger brothers as his bosses.
“What were you expecting?” Liam asked, breaking into Adam’s thoughts. He stood, his dark eyes focused on the cell phone in his grip. “A blood oath like when we were kids?”
“Blood oaths?” Ric tipped his chair back, balancing it on two legs. Ric was working for the family business for a few months before continuing his studies at graduate school in the fall. “I don’t remember any blood oaths.”
Nolan walked behind their little brother and pushed the chair back to the floor. “That’s because you’re the baby. By the time you came along, Mom had already warned us against marring her youngest boy’s skin or she’d tan our hides.”
“No fair. I missed out on all the fun stuff,” Ric groused.
“You want fun?” Bryant asked from where he sat at the head of the table. “Head out to the Camp Diamond job site and report in. You’re late.”
“Hey, I’m a Murphy!”
“Yeah, a Murphy who needs to get to his job,” Liam added, walking out of the room. Seconds later, he popped his head back around the corner and pointed at Adam. “That includes you, too, big brother. Get to work.”
Adam responded with a finger gesture that would’ve summoned the evil eye from his mom, but thankfully it was just him and the guys in the room.
And a dog.
Yeah, somehow the mangy mutt that latched onto him outside Fay’s place had hitched a ride home yesterday in the bed of Adam’s pickup without him knowing.
Once he realized he had company, a call to the local vet and animal shelter proved futile. No one was looking for a dog matching its description. At least the darn thing looked a lot cleaner after an outdoor bath revealed a coat of white. With no dog food in the house, he’d thrown two steaks on the grill.
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